


Just One More Day

by Clotilda_Willard



Series: The Music Begins [4]
Category: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Genre: Beware - old-man sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:47:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6613042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clotilda_Willard/pseuds/Clotilda_Willard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What might have happened if Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid had not died in Bolivia (they did according to history) but instead escaped to live out their lives lawfully, peacefully (almost) and together into old-manhood. (Probably not but this is fan-fic right?) Like any long-time couple, they have their ups and downs. It’s the game of love and people have been playing in infinite combinations since time began. There are no rules, all is fair and anyone and everyone can be a winner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just One More Day

**Author's Note:**

> Cranky, crabby, crotchety, cantankerous old farts and old man sex

Monday began as just one more day for the two old men sitting on the shaded porch of their rural farm house.

The day had started early for the younger man who had fed and watered the fowl and livestock before 6 a.m.

His partner had a pot of strong black coffee waiting when he came in. He fixed them a breakfast of eggs and toast. They made small talk as they ate and then washed and dried the dishes.

They changed the sheets on their bed like they did every Monday and opened the windows to air out the house. The next time they went into town they’d take the dirty laundry and pick up the clean from the week before. Nothing out of the ordinary; the same as they had been doing for years.

The sun was shining and the air was crisp and clear. But it was early yet and plenty of time to make the day memorable. Life carried on.

Hens and chicks scratched for bugs and leftover morsels of cracked corn in the front yard while a lone rooster crowed as he displayed himself proudly atop the woodpile next to the house.

A she-goat and her kid nibbled on grass alongside a milk cow and her new calf—an awkward, wobbly-legged little thing that had kept the two men up for over twenty-four hours being born.

The kid and calf romped and played with each other having no idea there was any difference between them. The kid had already taught the calf to head-butt. Heaven only knew what the calf was teaching the goat.

The fields surrounding the farm were fallow now, neither man young enough to tend the crops properly; both too set in their ways to take on workers with new ideas about planting and harvesting.

They had talked about buying a tractor a couple of years back, but talking was as far as it got.

They’d even considered cattle ranching again but neither could sit saddle for very long and hired hands cost money and ate up what little profit there might be.

The plow horses that had toiled many years in the sun along with their  
owners now enjoyed their well-deserved retirement as well. Neither man could bring himself to sell off such loyalty especially to someone who would make them work until they dropped in their tracks. Both animals had as much right to the same easy life their owners lived. In the summertime they shared a shaded corral next to the barn eating alfalfa and grain and getting fat; in the winter they were stalled in the barn, keeping warm and getting fatter.

Fenced off from the animals was a well-tended vegetable garden. It was still green and plentiful with green beans, squash, melons, tomatoes and corn—winter was late in coming this year.

A scarecrow stood sentinel in the middle of the garden doing its time-honored job of keeping the opportunist crows away. And two orange tabby cats that appeared to be lounging lazily in the sun were suddenly on the stalk at the rustle of a leaf from a careless mouse or gopher.

Decades had mostly passed the inhabitants by. They still dressed to the era they were born—cowboy boots, denims and checkered shirts. The only thing missing were their six-guns.

On the other hand, out of convenience, there had been many modern improvements to the house during their long tenure here—a septic tank allowed for indoor plumbing, electricity, telephone, even a radio though reception was iffy at best and they’d both taken a liking to radio comedian Jack Benny and were often disappointed when the static was so bad they couldn’t tune in his Sunday evening program.

But they lived a plain and simple life, preferring solitude to big city living with too many neighbors and too many automobiles. Unfortunately, that meant no decent radio reception. Besides, the city was creeping out toward them and would overtake all the small farms and communities one day. For now they would enjoy their quiet life.

They were gray-haired though one still had a good smattering of strawberry blond streaking his thick mop. The other man’s hair was white as snow and sparse; age spots covered his face.

Both men were browned and weathered from too many years in the sun.

They relaxed in rockers enjoying the cool of the late morning and each others’ company though they were about to hit a slight bump in the road.

The blond looked up from his newspaper and removed his glasses and glared disapprovingly at his partner.

“Robert, now you know the doctor told you not to smoke those things,” he chided watching smoke rings drift upward and dissolve in the slight breeze which always kicked-up before noon.

“Damn it, Harry,” Robert complained, crushing the half-smoked cigarette out with his boot heel. “If I did what that quack said I wouldn’t do anything except sit here and wait for God. Don’t smoke cigarettes or cigars, don’t drink bourbon or coffee, don’t eat too much meat, don’t have sex. Jez, what the fuck is left? Let’s just dig a hole out back and you can throw me in now and get it over with.” The man finished his tirade with a disgruntled sigh.

“Don’t get yourself all riled up.” Harry chuckled. He had to admit his partner had a point. “He’s just thinking of your health.”

“Fuck my health. What are a few months more if I can’t enjoy them by carousing a little?”

This was their usual conversation when Harry Alonzo Longabaugh found Robert Leroy Parker doing something he shouldn’t and it would have about as much success at changing the man’s habits as it usually did.

“How come he never lectures you?” Robert continued.

“I live a clean, healthy life,” Harry boasted smugly, folding his glasses and placing them on the small table between their chairs.

He waited silently for what was to come. Even after all these years it was still so easy to needle Robert and get a rise out of him.

“You hypocritical little prick,” the older man snapped. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” He glared at the blond.

“Little?” Harry said questioningly.

“Don’t change the subject. You always try to change the subject. You just don’t let me or the doc see you take that drink or smoke that cigarette.”

“So.” Harry sounded like a petulant child.

Robert pursed his lips. “You know what? Maybe you are a bigger prick than I give you credit for. And I’m not referring to your cock size.” He added cutting Harry off from another sidetrack.

Harry just stared down into his lap.

Robert continued to eyeball him.

“Yeah, well…” Harry finally replied a bit sheepishly.

“I may not be as sharp as I used to be but I can still appreciate the smell of fine tobacco or good bourbon on your breath, so don’t think you’re pulling the wool over my eyes by chewing a couple of mint leaves before you come in the house.”

“Okay, okay.”

“I know where you’ve squirreled away that short dog of bourbon and pack of cigarettes in the woodpile and I can smell when you’ve been out there taking a swig or smoking.”

Harry just shrugged and muttered “asshole” under his breath.

“I heard that. There’s nothing wrong with my hearing either.” Robert took a deep breath. “You know, upon careful reconsideration, you really _are_ the biggest prick I’ve ever known.”

“Thank you.” Harry smiled as if he’d won grand prize.

They both looked at the other sternly then started laughing. They settled back in for a few more minutes of serenity.

“Harry,” Robert broke the silence.

“Hmmm?”

“How is it that I got old and cranky and rickety and you stayed vital as a young lion?”

“Young? C’mon and look at me.”

“Oh, I do every day. You’ve gotten a little craggy around the edges but you still got your strength and stamina. You wear those cheaters to read the paper but that’s about it. I can’t even walk to the end of the road for the mail and come back without getting winded. I have to use the truck most of the time now,” his voice lowered and he stared down at the rough wood beneath his feet. “I practically can’t do anything anymore not even….” He sighed deeply with the remembrance of days and years past.

“You do just fine where it really counts.” Harry rested his hand over Robert’s.

Robert perked up. “Do I really still satisfy you in bed?”

A lecherous smile settled on Harry’s lips. “In bed, on the couch, across the table, against the wall…”

“Have we done all that?”

Harry nodded. “And then some.”

Robert smiled. “You remember the night I had you bent over that bale of hay in the barn? We couldn’t even wait to get in the house.”

“How could I forget? I was sore for a week.” They both laughed. “It’s a shame we’re not up to that kind of thing anymore but what we do have is perfect.”

“You mean that?” 

“Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”

Robert smiled. “When we’re together like that I do feel young again,”  
he sighed. “Ah, to be able to go at it like we did in the old days.”

“We fucked like rabbits.” Sundance snickered as he reached out and ran his fingers through Butch’s hair. It was so thin now. “You’ll always be the handsome stranger who took me to bed that first time in Kaycee and taught me to trust again.”

“Those were the days. Both of us full of piss and vinegar. We made a hell of a team in bed and as outlaws.”

“We still make quite a team.” Harry squeezed Robert’s hand.

“You know,” Robert smiled.  “You’ve actually mellowed quite nicely over the years. You’re almost civilized now.”

“Gee, thanks.” Harry thought a moment. “Guess I was quite a hellion in my younger days.” He shook his head.

“Well, finally something we can agree on. I can honestly say that living with you was no bed of roses.” Still there was a hint of nostalgia in Robert’s voice for the old days.

“What do you mean? That’s exactly what it was. Nice looking package on the outside and very prickly on the inside.”

Robert laughed. “You know, you’re right and I got stuck more times than I can remember. But I kept coming back for more.”

“So what does that say about you?”

Robert’s tone went serious. “That I loved you enough to put up with the biggest pain in the ass I ever met.”

 Harry sighed. “And I made your life hell most of the time.”

“Yeah, you did that, but not all the time. Who knows, maybe I liked the abuse once I got used to it.”

“Abuse?” Harry sounded stricken. “Did I really…?”

“Okay, wrong choice of words. Challenge. Just relax.”

“Was getting along with me really that much of a chore? I never meant to be _that_ difficult or to make your life _that_ miserable.”

“I know. Only just a little difficult and miserable.”

They nodded, both conceding on that fact.

“No question you were a challenge. Though I have to admit you never lied about yourself. You told me right up front what to expect and I took you on, eyes wide open.” Robert smiled in memory. “But the reward was worth whatever it was at the moment when I could make you happy. That’s gotten easier as you’ve grown older. To see a genuine smile on your lips and hear your laughter—nowadays that’s almost as good as sex. And it’s a lot easier than it used to be. But don’t worry, you still have a wild streak.”

“Thanks.” Harry smiled. “But, I’m sorry for not being a better person or what you wanted.”

“Don’t apologize. If you hadn’t been what I wanted I could have walked out anytime.”

“Did you ever think about it?”

“Honest to God truth, Harry. Never. Not even when I lost you to Etta for awhile. When it came down to the line, she left us and I’m the one who picked up the pieces and put us back together again.”

“You took me back, unconditionally, like nothing had ever changed.”

“Nothing had changed for me. I still wanted you.”

“Can’t imagine why?”

“You were kind of like a drug that I couldn’t give up or get enough of. I couldn’t have lived without you. Year after year I became more addicted.”

Their conversation this morning seemed full of revelations so Harry added one more for good measure.  

“Speaking of years, do you know what day it is?”

“It’s Monday.”

“No. I mean the date.”

“Let’s see, the date.” There was a pause. “It’s November…holy shit, November seventh. How long has it been?”

Sundance counted on his fingers. “Eighteen, twenty-eight, thirty-eight… Thirty years.”

“Thirty years,” Cassidy whistled. “Did you ever think either of us would get to this age?”

“I can’t believe we got away at all.” Sundance shook his head. “What were the chances those two Bolivian bandits were hiding out in the same boarding house and thought the law was after them? Or that their bodies were identified as us?”

“You know, that actually pissed me off in the beginning. But then I saw it for the miracle it was. I thank God we had enough sense to realize that before it was too late and live quiet and respectable the rest of our lives.”

“You don’t miss the old days?”

“You mean being chased by the law and getting shot at?”

“Yeah, guess that was a stupid question.”

“It took a long time for us to recover from our wounds. If it hadn’t been for Father Joseph neither of us would have made it.”

“It was a miracle that he saved our lives.”

“Yes, it was. And even though my hand still doesn’t work right and I’ve got a limp I have nothing to complain about. I just wish your shoulder didn’t pain you so awful in the winter because that bullet was never removed.”

“Thirty years and it’s still fresh in my memory.” Harry rubbed his shoulder and the bump where the bullet had fused with the bone. He felt a slight twinge.

“No regrets?”

“Only that we couldn’t stay young forever.” Harry smiled into Robert’s wrinkled, age-spotted face.

“You’ll always be that golden boy I saw so long ago.” He fingered the blond’s hair.

“Ain’t so golden anymore,” Sundance pointed out.

“Ah, a few silver threads here and there. Look at me. I haven’t got a dark hair in my head. Hardly any hair as a matter of fact.”

“It was never your hair that drew me to you.”

“Yeah,” Cassidy snorted, “you just wanted me for my body.”

“And a nice body it was and still is. Something wrong with that?”

“No,” Robert finally answered.

“And don’t say you didn’t feel the same way?”

“You were quite the stud in your youth and you still are. You’ve still got a nice ass too, not flat and bony like mine. You’ve hardly slowed down at all.”

“C’mon.”

“No, really. You can still get it up at the drop of a hat and that’s shameful for a man your age. Look at me,” he pointed to himself. “I have to build up to it for weeks and then poof—it’s over with in seconds with no assurance there will be a next time. That damned quack has pills for everything else that he thinks ails me, why the hell can’t he give me something to help get it up more than quarterly?”

“It has been a while.” Harry grinned mischievously. “You want to go  
inside and fool around?” He motioned with his head

“Jez, it’s the middle of the day.”

“Well, don’t let me keep you. I mean, if you got something better to do or you’re not in the mood?”

After a few moments Robert smirked, “No,” he said kind of drawn out and nodded.

 They went into the house. The screen door had barely slammed behind  
them before Harry pulled Robert into his arms.

“Butch,” he murmured.

“Sundance,” Robert whispered, opening his lips to his lover’s kiss.

While they had maintained their identities as Robert Parker and Harry Long all these years, when it came to sex Butch and Sundance were always resurrected.

They finally came up for air.

“C’mon, old man,” Harry murmured tugging on Robert’s shirt front, “let’s get into bed.”

“Must you call me that?” Robert asked allowing himself to be led along.

“I must,” Harry said softly as he turned and caressed Robert’s cheek.

“Why?”

Harry’s thumb rubbed over Robert’s lips. “Because that’s what you are. You’re my old man and nobody elses.

“Absolutely, goddamned right,” Robert whispered. He kissed Harry again. “You always did have a sweet mouth,” he said caressing Harry’s cheek in return. “You’re already getting me hard. You were right, let’s get into bed before I lose it.”

Harry was already half way out of his clothes as they entered the bedroom. He quickly stripped then settled back on the bed and watched his lover undress. He caressed Robert’s back as he plopped down to pull off boots and denims.

“Get that bony ass of yours up here you sexy old man,” Harry murmured as Robert scooted around and straddled his chest. He gazed up at his lover. Old man was his endearment for Robert, had been for a number of years ever since the man’s hair had started turning gray.

At first Robert hadn’t liked it, thinking it was a way for Harry to make him feel old and inadequate. But then he started listening to Harry’s tone of voice and realized it was like him saying ‘dear’ or ‘’sweetheart’ without letting others in on their relationship.

“The usual?” he asked as if Robert was ordering the blue plate special of the day.

“Don’t know why you call it usual. Every time feels better and different than the last.”

“That’s just because you can’t remember the last time.”

“Liar.”

Harry smiled as he encircled Robert’s hips so he could cup his ass and steady the man. “That’s it.”

Robert was getting terribly thin and Harry took the utmost care with him when they were like this. He was reminded of an old cat or dog that got the ‘scrawnies’ as they neared their end. It was nature’s way and Harry knew he’d be there someday as well.

As for now, he would give Robert the pleasure he sought and find his own self-relief as well since Robert usually fell asleep after one of their romantic afternoon interludes.

“Old man, huh?” Robert grasped the brass head board railing. He sighed as Harry’s warm mouth suckled his cock. “I’ll show you how old I am.”

“Robert,” Harry cautioned, pulling back. “Make it last.” He took Robert again.

 “Damn it, Harry,” Robert drew a deep breath. “Feels like the first time you did this to me in Kaycee?”

His head fell back and he groaned as Harry hummed around his prick sending vibrations through his body. He knew he wouldn’t hold out for long, practically no control these days. But while it lasted…God would it be sweet.

He dared gaze down on Harry. The sight of his cock emerging then disappearing into his lover’s mouth sent more shivers through his body. And the look on Harry’s face, as if he were in heaven…

Robert moaned as aHarry Harry eased a finger into his ass to rub his prostate. The pleasure welled up in him before he could give warning. His jaw clenched and then he cried out as he came, offering what little there was to his lover.

Harry finally released Robert’s hips and softening cock and eased the man to his side. Robert scooted down out of his reach to return the favor.

“You shouldn’t,” Harry protested.

“You never want me to have any fun,” Robert grumbled as he kissed down Harry’s chest and belly.

“I just don’t want you to put your back out again. We had a hard time explaining to the doctor how that happened. Remember?” He emphasized. Then there was a long drawn in breath as Cassidy took Sundance into his mouth. “Oh, fuck, Butch,” he sighed as he thrust.

He propped himself up on his elbow so he could watch and stroke the man’s hair and face. Very quickly he reached the same pinnacle his partner had just been on.

Harry came, falling back on the bed crying out “Robert” and “Butch” until he was spent and exhausted.

They lay side by side for several moments sated and at peace with the world and each other. Finally Robert broke the silence.

“Guess I’ve still got the magic, huh?”

“A regular Blackstone,” Harry sighed with satisfaction.

“Not too bad for an _old man_ then?”

“Not bad at all.” Harry rolled to his side to gaze at Robert. “How come you’re so good to me?”

“Good to you?” Robert sounded incredulous. “I made you one of the most wanted outlaws in United States history. I nearly got you killed in Bolivia.”

“I think I contributed a little to our reputation.”

“Yeah, you did. It wasn’t all me. But, what’s good about that? Hell, I catted around on you every chance I got.”

“You know I fooled around too, right?”

 “I knew what was going on behind my back. You made no secret about Etta but I often wondered if she knew about…well everyone else?”

“She knew about you and me. She knew about some of the others too.” Harry caressed Robert from shoulder to hip. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“We always came back to each other.”

“We did, didn’t we?” Robert acknowledged with a nod and smile.

“And we never abandoned the other even in the worst situation.”

“No, we didn’t,” Robert replied as he remembered some of their narrow survivals. “And we sure the hell faced some bad times.”

“But, we’re here right now, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.” Robert smiled even wider. “We sure the hell are.”

“And you know that since we escaped Bolivia I haven’t been with anybody else.”

“I do know that and I’ve kept the same promise.”

“Well then, what’s not good?”

“Have you really been happy all these years?”

Harry shrugged. “As happy as I could have ever been.”

“Yeah, seems to me I remember you saying something about being bitchy and hard to get along with.”

“And don’t forget being a pain in the ass.”

They both chuckled.

“You were never that. Most of the time when you got pissed at me I deserved it. Me and my hair-brained schemes.”

“Really? You mean everything you said earlier wasn’t true? I was never a pain in the ass?”

“Well, maybe just a little,” Butch conceded with a wink.

“Or a lot.”

“Okay, so you could be a miserable sonofabitch at times. Like we  talked about earlier, I could have left any time if I’d wanted to. But I didn’t want to. And, besides that, you weren’t the only one who could be a miserable sonofabitch.”

Longabaugh grinned. “No I guess not.”

“Jez, Harry,” Robert caressed the man’s cheek. “You’ve still got that killer smile. You could blind the sun with it. I’m surprised that someone younger hasn’t tried to lure you away.”

“You know something Butch?”

“What?”

“The only one I want is you.”

 Parker shook his head. “You deserve a man that can keep up with you—work the farm during the day and work you at night. I’m not going to be around forever, you know.”

“You going somewhere I don’t know about?”

“You know what I mean.”

There was a long silence.

“Do we have to talk about this now?” Harry said.

“Then when? You tip-toe around this subject every time I bring it up.” Robert stroked Harry’s cheek and lips with his thumb as he looked deeply into the man’s eyes.

The blond finally looked away.

“Harry, I know my heart is weak and is going to give out on me one of these days. But, I’d rather live what life I have left holding you in my arms like this knowing you won’t be alone. I don’t want to spend my remaining time sitting in the porch’s shade remembering our glory days or worrying about you. I want to make new memories.” He tilted Harry’s chin until they were eye to eye again. “New memories with you. And I want to know you’ll make new memories of your own with someone else when I’m gone.” He wet his lips. “I love you, Harry Longabaugh. After all these years and all we’ve been through I still love you. Am I asking too much?”

“No. You’ve never been a bastard like me. You’ve given and given and I’ve taken selfishly.” Harry sighed. “Since we first met you’ve indulged me and put up with my moods and bad habits. You pulled my fat out of the fire so many times I can’t count them all. I guess it took getting old to make me realize all this and understand what really matters and what we have.” He gathered Robert in his arms and held him close, his warm breath gusted against Robert’s chest. “If that isn’t love I don’t know what is.”

Love wasn’t a word Harry bandied about too much even though they both knew that’s what their relationship had been for a long time. For Harry the most difficult thing was to admit that love and vocalize it. He felt love for Robert in his heart whenever he looked at the man, every time they were like this. But, it was nearly impossible to come out and say it. And yet, Robert told him almost every day that he was loved. He rubbed his cheek against Robert’s smooth chest.

“You aren’t going to get all misty eyed on me, are you?”

“No more than usual,” Harry replied taking a deep shuddering breath. “Only….”

“What?”

“Can you forgive me for being the selfish, arrogant and demanding prick I am and for all the horrible things I’ve said and done over the years. How can I be the man you want?”

“First, there’s nothing to forgive. There never has been. That’s what love is all about. You accept the whole package, good and bad. And, truth be known, I’m not sure I’d like you if you were any different. But there’s one thing you have to do and only you can do it.”

Harry looked questioningly at Robert.

“You have to accept who you are. Your problem is you’ve been fighting yourself all these years and I can tell you it’s a losing battle.”

“So what do I do?”

“Just be you, Harry. Like you’ve always been. The first time I met you and realized you were at the end of your rope I knew I had to rescue you. I’d been close to that situation myself and I knew what a desperate man was capable of. And then that next morning when you were cleaned up that’s when the real attraction started. I knew you were pure trouble and that there would be times I would like to….”

“But, in all our years together even with all our arguments, heated words and anger, we never raised a hand to one another.”

“We’d let the anger cool and when we came together all would be forgiven and we’d wear ourselves ragged screwing half the night. There were times when I would have given you the world for a kiss or just one smile. And, the longer we were together and when we managed to survive Bolivia, I knew there would be a time like this—when we were old and settled. And, I also knew that I would continue to do what I had always done, even once I was in the grave. I would look after you and see that you weren’t left alone. That’s your biggest fear, you know. Being alone terrifies you and I won’t let that happen.”

Robert pulled Harry against his chest. He knew Harry hated to show or admit weakness of any kind. The blond embraced him just as tightly.

“Harry, Harry.” Robert caressed the trembling man’s head. “The big, bad Sundance Kid. You really are a softie, you know that, right?”

“There are worse things.”

“Yeah, you could stop loving me.”

“That will never happen.”

 “Then you know the depth of my feelings and that I’m only trying to keep my word to you?”

“I know.” Harry pulled back and rested his hand over Robert’s. He kissed the man’s palm. “Especially since now I’m the one looking after you a lot of the time. But you’re everything I’m ever going to want. There isn’t going to be anyone else after you. No one could take your place.”

“You sure about that?” Robert had a crafty smile on his lips.

“You’ve got someone in mind, haven’t you?”

Robert just nodded and smiled.

“You mean someone like Cord Mitchell, right?”

“Not someone like him, damn it! Him! He’s got it bad for you Harry.”

“How the hell do you know that?”

“Well, if you ever took your eyes off of me long enough you’d see what I see when he looks at you.”

“You trying to get rid of me?”

“No, just thinking of your future and looking out for you like I always have.”

“Robert, I’m old enough to be…”

“Cord is forty-five and you’re sixty-six. At those ages you’re hardly robbing the cradle. My God, he’s had a hard-on for you since the first time we met him ten years ago. And, besides that, Cord is a throwback to our time. The two of you are perfect for each other and he really would like to get this farm going again. You know, plow the fields during the day,” Robert smirked. “And plow you at night. It’s been a long time since you had a really good fuck.”

“Damn it all.” Harry laughed.  “Sometimes I forget how blunt you can be when talking about sex. What else have you been planning?”

“Well, when we first met Cord and he started working for us he lived here in the bunkhouse. The only reason he left was because it was too hard for him to be around you every day and not be able to do anything about it.”

“I know why he moved into town.”

“You knew?”

“I’m not completely blind, you know. But you were. The night before he left I went to the bunkhouse to talk with him, to try and get him to stay. That’s when he told me why he was leaving. Robert, in all our years together since Bolivia, that was the only time I seriously considered cheating on you. We came real close, kissing, hands on each other, but I just couldn’t go through with it behind your back and neither could he.”

“Well now, it wouldn’t be behind my back and you could both have what you want. Who knows, maybe, if things worked out, we could invite him back and make him a part of us again.”

“The three of us?” Harry seemed dumbfounded.

“I don’t know, you and me when the flesh is willing. You and Cord when you need what I’m not able to give. And don’t act all shocked. You, me and Etta had a couple of go rounds when we were in Bolivia.”

“Yeah, I know, but you ain’t planning on watching or anything, are you?”

“Maybe.” Robert’s lips curled in a sly smile but then he saw the shocked expression on Harry’s face.

“Robert…?”

“Relax. I was joking. I didn’t realize you’d gotten so puritanical in your old age. Besides, I’ll probably be able to hear you if you’re anywhere in the county.”

“Am I that noisy?”

“Well,” Robert shrugged. “It’s one of the reasons we haven’t moved into town.”

 “You’ve got this all planned out, don’t you?”

“Well, I ain’t rushing things along exactly—time and God are doing that. So  
you’re going to have to put up with me for a while yet but I think you and Cord should get reacquainted.”

“I’ll think about it and that’s all I’m promising.”

Parker shrugged. “Well, that’s more than I expected.”

“Robert, don’t you know you’re just about the sexiest old fart I’ve ever seen.”

“Only just about?”

Harry threw his head back and laughed.

Robert thought about it for a bit and decided that maybe Harry was telling the truth.

“Well, thanks for the compliment, I think. I guess after what we just did you do feel like that. I can’t think of anyone else I would rather have spent the last thirty years with.”

“Don’t you mean forty-two?”

“No. Our lives together didn’t really start until Butch and Sundance died.” Robert ran his thumb over Harry’s upper lip. “You know what I miss?”

“Hmmm?”

“Your moustache.”

“You know why I shaved it.”

“That was then. You were less likely to be recognized without it. Time has passed. I bet fucking Lefors wouldn’t recognize either of us now.”

“I think he’s dead.”

“That’s beside the point.”

“You always complained it tickled. That’s why I never mentioned growing it back.”

“It did tickle.” Robert winked at him. “But I never said I didn’t like it.”

Harry chuckled as he gently stroked Robert’s shoulder. “Whatever makes you happy, old man.”

“You make me happy, Harry Longabaugh, every day.” Butch settled beside Sundance and rested his head against the man’s shoulder. “And considering taking Cord Mitchell under your wing would also make me happy.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

Butch smiled to himself. Now that the seed was planted it would gradually take hold.

They lay in each others’ arms and dozed for a while. They had nothing else that needed doing. With the new calf they didn’t even need to milk the cow except maybe every other day. And why they even had a cow Harry didn’t know, neither of them liked milk and they could get butter in town. But the thought of slaughtering and eating something with soft brown eyes like that…

Harry curled up against Robert. And in that moment a frightening thought occurred to him. What if, by some chance, he died first? Now there was something Robert hadn’t taken into consideration. Would Robert be able to get by on his own? Was there anyone to take his place in Robert’s life? Would Cord see Robert through to the end? Harry swallowed hard. Why did he always have to see the dark cloud instead of the silver lining? Always Mr. Doom and Gloom. Why did settling one problem between them always seem to open the door to another? He’d had enough turmoil for one day. He wanted peace, he wanted the gentleness that Robert had never lost the taste for. The tenderness Robert showed him, that’s what he was addicted to. He draped his arm around Robert’s waist. The man stirred and looked at him with sleepy eyes.

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” Harry yawned.

“You didn’t. I was just lying here dreaming and thinking.”

“Me too. What were you thinking about?” Harry murmured.

“About how comfortable you are to sleep on,” Robert said nestling his head against his lover’s cushy chest. While Harry still cut a masculine figure some of the lean, hard muscle of youth had gradually softened over the years from inactivity.

“Good to know I still serve some useful purpose in life,” Harry smiled as he held Robert close and caressed his back.

“What were you thinking?”

“How lucky I am. Can’t imagine what my life would be without you.”

Robert grinned. “I like days like this—carefree, lazy…romantic.”

“Me too. Besides, that’s about all we’re good for anymore.”

Robert balanced on his elbow to look at Harry. “Did you ever think we’d live through so much history? Running water, electricity, even an indoor crapper. What will they think of next?”

“It hasn’t all been good. World war, prohibition, The Depression, gangsters more violent than we ever were. And that Hitler in Germany now. He’s going to make trouble for the whole world. Mark my words.”

“I’m tired of war and machine gun toting gangsters, airplanes and cars…women voting and driving cars. Can you believe that?”

“It’s called progress.”

“Don’t you ever long for simpler times? When we were young we never needed all the things we have now.”

“Don’t think there’s anything you or I can do about it. At this point we’re just along for the ride.”

“It has been a helluva trip hasn’t it?” Robert sighed.

“Sure has and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Harry cupped Robert’s head and held the man close against his chest.

They lay together quietly for a little longer.

Robert mused at how their roles had changed in the last few years. In the beginning it was Butch who had taken Harry under his wing and made him into The Sundance Kid. Butch who led the gang; the man who made the decisions.

 It was Butch who with Father Joseph’s help got them in their wounded conditions out of Bolivia and to the United States. Butch who had stayed at Sundance’s side for three days and nights until he was sure the man would survive.

It was Butch who had found their current home assuring there weren’t any nosy neighbors or lawmen for a fifty mile radius.

But now their roles had reversed and it was Harry who looked after Butch seeing to his physical and emotional needs.

“What are you thinking about now?” Harry asked.

“About how blessed I am. Your face is the last image I carry with me when I go to sleep at night and I thank God for allowing me another perfect day and I pray that your face will be the first thing I see in the morning light and I thank Him again for giving me another day.”

Harry propped himself up on his elbow. “I think you need to rest while I fix supper. I’ll come in and wake you in a little bit.”

“Okay,” Robert yawned as he curled up against Harry’s pillow. “You plum tuckered me out.” His lips curled in a smile as he drank in the lingering scent of his lover. “You think maybe we could go to the movies tonight? The truck’s all gassed up and ready to go.”

“I swear, since you learned how to drive that thing I can’t keep you away from it.”

“I like driving. It seems to suit me.”

“If you just wouldn’t drive so fast. You’re not damned Barney Oldfield you know.”

“Fast is fun.”

“Not when I’m the passenger.” Harry raised his eyebrows.

“I taught you how to drive.”

“I know, but I’m just not good at it and my vision isn’t good even with the glasses. I can’t see the road at night. I might get us in an accident or killed.”

“I’ll try to slow down, okay?”

 “Okay. What did you want to see?”

“The Sagebrush is showing a new Tim Holt movie, _The Law West of Tombstone_.”

“Can’t we ever see anything but westerns?”

“I like westerns.”

“Yeah, I know you do.”

“You know, I really miss all the old time western stars—William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Dustin Farnum, Buck Jones. They were men who knew what the west was about because they lived it for real. These new talkie actors…”

“What about that Wayne kid, John or something. He’s pretty good.”

“Aw, he’ll never go anywhere. He’s stiff as a board on screen.”

“Hopalong Cassidy? You must like him because of his last name.”

“Too sanctimonious. No one’s that good.”

“Okay, then what about Gene Autry?”

“Autry! A singing cowboy? Are you crazy? Did you ever know any singing cowboy when we were riding?”

“Can’t say as I did. But they aren’t making these movies for us. They’re for kids.”

“Okay, I get the idea. If you don’t want to see a western how about the new Andy Hardy movie at the Odeon.”

“What’s the title?”

“ _Out West With The Hardys_.”

“There we go again with the West.” Harry smiled as he got out of bed and slipped into his clothes. “I’m agreeable. Whatever you want to see.” He thought a moment. “Maybe we could call Cord and see if he wants to go.”

Robert looked up at his lover. “You’d do that?”

Harry shrugged and grinned. “Like I said, whatever makes you happy.”

Robert smiled and nodded. “Sounds good.” Everything was going to be all right. He could read that in Harry’s eyes. He settled in for his well-earned afternoon nap.

Harry pulled the spread from the foot of the bed. “Now rest or you won’t be up for anything tonight.” He draped it over Butch.

 He contemplated his partner in crime and love surrounded with the memories of over forty years.

Four decades of laughter, occasional anger and tears. Four decades of pain and pleasure. All shared, all accepted or forgiven.

Maybe Robert knew something he didn’t and Cord Mitchell really was his future. He’d always told Robert he spent too much time thinking, but maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

He smiled then leaned down and kissed Robert’s head. An impulse rose up within him and for once he didn’t hold it in. “Robert,” he whispered into his lover’s ear. “My life. My reason for living.” Another gentle kiss. “I love you old man.”

He quietly padded out of the room and pulled the door to.

“I love you too, Kid,” Robert murmured, holding the pillow closer. A huge grin lit his face. Today had been a remarkably perfect day. They’d had sex. Discussed Harry’s future with Cord Mitchell and now, tonight, they were all going to the movies and the cherry on top was Harry saying he loved him. If he died in his sleep now he would be content knowing that Harry would have a future with Cord. _But, Lord, please, don’t take me up on that thought quite yet. There’s so much more to do. Please, just one more day._

**Author's Note:**

> There is one more story between Last Dance and Just One More Day that posits the idea that Butch and Sundance survived Bolivia. This will be posted at a later date.


End file.
